Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Iraq's democratically elected leader, presides over a government that - according to critics from international human rights groups to Baghdad bus drivers - is ineffective, increasingly authoritarian and repressive toward its political enemies.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Iraq's democratically elected leader, presides over a government that - according to critics from international human rights groups to Baghdad bus drivers - is ineffective, increasingly authoritarian and repressive toward its political enemies.

so, did anything in Iraq change at all?/other than the availability of stretch Hummers,that is.

sgt neeley:Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Iraq's democratically elected leader, presides over a government that - according to critics from international human rights groups to Baghdad bus drivers - is ineffective, increasingly authoritarian and repressive toward its political enemies.

so, did anything in Iraq change at all?/other than the availability of stretch Hummers,that is.

Well militant Islam gained a bit of a foothold due to the turmoil, whereas previously Saddam and his Baathist party had been doing a pretty job of keeping the place secular.

sgt neeley:Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Iraq's democratically elected leader, presides over a government that - according to critics from international human rights groups to Baghdad bus drivers - is ineffective, increasingly authoritarian and repressive toward its political enemies.

so, did anything in Iraq change at all?/other than the availability of stretch Hummers,that is.

I'm happy Saddam ended up dead, but I'm sad about how we went about it. On paper at least at least the concept of Baathism has some value. The two big issues are the concept of a single party state and "Arab only" (so the Persians, Kurds, etc, are the enemy). That being said it injected the idea of fairly secular state (Islam should be respected as a achievement of the Arabs, but not imposed) was definitely of value in a region filled with the Iranian Clerics, the Taliban, the Wahabbis, etc. It's have much rather see us work to infect Baathism with some good old American pluralistic values and go from there.

Kind of like how near the end the Egyptian government was like "roll the tanks and crush the protestors" and the Army's response was "Yeah well we've been hanging out with the Americans and don't do that shiat anymore. Maybe you guys should consider retirement?".

Occupation Oilraqi Freedumb was a terrorist attack and a war crime. Killing people that didn't do anything to you for political reasons, trying to intimidate a wider population into accepting your will and ideology is the essence terrorism -- whether you're wearing a bomb on your head or an army uniform. The main difference between neocons/Iraqi freetards and the Islamists is what they think the world should look like.

And I'm sorry but Oilraqi Fartdumb was an obvious war crime too. An unsuccessful war that you start is unnecessary war. An unnecessary war that you start is a war of aggression. Wars of aggression are war crimes. Perpetrators of war crimes are war criminals. Conclusion: Those demon-Cletuses that did that should go to prison for the rest of their lives.

It was a complete joke. I say that as someone who voted for Obama and hoped for the best.I saw it as more of a "down payment" from the rest of the world for him to not be a jackass like his predecessor.

Gnarwhal:Occupation Oilraqi Freedumb was a terrorist attack and a war crime. Killing people that didn't do anything to you for political reasons, trying to intimidate a wider population into accepting your will and ideology is the essence terrorism -- whether you're wearing a bomb on your head or an army uniform. The main difference between neocons/Iraqi freetards and the Islamists is what they think the world should look like.

And I'm sorry but Oilraqi Fartdumb was an obvious war crime too. An unsuccessful war that you start is unnecessary war. An unnecessary war that you start is a war of aggression. Wars of aggression are war crimes. Perpetrators of war crimes are war criminals. Conclusion: Those demon-Cletuses that did that should go to prison for the rest of their lives.

Invading Kuwait, using WMDs on the Kurds.... Are you that stupid or just that young? Go into the archives if you want to relive that fight.

sgt neeley:Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Iraq's democratically elected leader, presides over a government that - according to critics from international human rights groups to Baghdad bus drivers - is ineffective, increasingly authoritarian and repressive toward its political enemies.

so, did anything in Iraq change at all?/other than the availability of stretch Hummers,that is.

Dictatorships are usually pretty effective. They were still having limited electrical service (about six to eight hours a day, total) as late as 2009, which was the last time I was in Iraq.

coffee smells good:Invading Kuwait, using WMDs on the Kurds.... Are you that stupid or just that young? Go into the archives if you want to relive that fight.

Those things happened over 10 years before the Republicans chose to start an unnecessary war that gravely harmed US interests. Iraq was contained, and the northern Kurdish region was out of Baghdad's control.

Give President Hussein another one because he withdrew the troops ending the war and he probably would accept it, just like the first one. Or they could call up Al Gore and have him whip up another Power Point presentation about something or other and then give it to him since that's all he did the first time. Or just give it to him for inventing the internet and skip the slide show altogether.

jaytkay:coffee smells good: Invading Kuwait, using WMDs on the Kurds.... Are you that stupid or just that young? Go into the archives if you want to relive that fight.

Those things happened over 10 years before the Republicans chose to start an unnecessary war that gravely harmed US interests. Iraq was contained, and the northern Kurdish region was out of Baghdad's control.

Exactly, we should have invaded when it was the Democrats who were screaming it needed to be done.

sgt neeley:Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Iraq's democratically elected leader, presides over a government that - according to critics from international human rights groups to Baghdad bus drivers - is ineffective, increasingly authoritarian and repressive toward its political enemies.

so, did anything in Iraq change at all?/other than the availability of stretch Hummers,that is.

Yes, the christian minority is being driven out and killed off at a much faster pace than when Saddam was in power, and the amount of sectarian violence between the Sunnis and Shi'ites has gone through the roof.

Gnarwhal:Occupation Oilraqi Freedumb was a terrorist attack and a war crime. Killing people that didn't do anything to you for political reasons, trying to intimidate a wider population into accepting your will and ideology is the essence terrorism -- whether you're wearing a bomb on your head or an army uniform. The main difference between neocons/Iraqi freetards and the Islamists is what they think the world should look like.

And I'm sorry but Oilraqi Fartdumb was an obvious war crime too. An unsuccessful war that you start is unnecessary war. An unnecessary war that you start is a war of aggression. Wars of aggression are war crimes. Perpetrators of war crimes are war criminals. Conclusion: Those demon-Cletuses that did that should go to prison for the rest of their lives.

sgt neeley:Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Iraq's democratically elected leader, presides over a government that - according to critics from international human rights groups to Baghdad bus drivers - is ineffective, increasingly authoritarian and repressive toward its political enemies.

so, did anything in Iraq change at all?/other than the availability of stretch Hummers,that is.

IN Iraq? No, not for the better...but that was never what it was about, was it?

Personally, I made a tidy sum on Haliburton stock...figured if my fellow citizens were going to do something retarded, like put a land war in Asia on the national credit card...again...as a capitalist, it was my duty to make some money from it.

Gnarwhal:Occupation Oilraqi Freedumb was a terrorist attack and a war crime. Killing people that didn't do anything to you for political reasons, trying to intimidate a wider population into accepting your will and ideology is the essence terrorism -- whether you're wearing a bomb on your head or an army uniform. The main difference between neocons/Iraqi freetards and the Islamists is what they think the world should look like.

And I'm sorry but Oilraqi Fartdumb was an obvious war crime too. An unsuccessful war that you start is unnecessary war. An unnecessary war that you start is a war of aggression. Wars of aggression are war crimes. Perpetrators of war crimes are war criminals. Conclusion: Those demon-Cletuses that did that should go to prison for the rest of their lives.

Thousands of Iraqis got *infected* from exposure to Americans and our way of doing things. Give it ten years or so, and all those Iraqis will be in positions of power, and demanding that Iraq modernize and start running things in a more civilized fashion. They had it abundantly illustrated to them how screwed up their society is, and know thare are better ways of doing things....

-I just happen to be watching Iraq The Hidden Storyat this very moment so, getting a kick, etc.It depresses me almost to the point of tears to read how ignorant, uninformed, and self-deluded myfellow citizens are. You know nothing and yet continue to blather on like you do. The invasion andoccupation of Iraq should, and hopefully will, go down as one of the greatest crimes in history.Hundreds of thousands of lives thrown away to serve the interests of a tiny, powerful clique offascist criminals who care no more for America than they do for Iraq or any other nation. Theytake a big stinking turd, wrap it in the Flag and stick a cross in it and people swallow it whole. Jesus.

mark12A:Thousands of Iraqis got *infected* from exposure to Americans and our way of doing things. Give it ten years or so, and all those Iraqis will be in positions of power, and demanding that Iraq modernize and start running things in a more civilized fashion. They had it abundantly illustrated to them how screwed up their society is, and know thare are better ways of doing things....

-And how many thousands got infected with a burning hatred of America and all it stands for after watching kith and kin die from bullets and bombs stamped 'made in usa'? Do you forget that Abu Ghraib was part of the American 'way of doing things'? Executing wounded prisoners, indiscriminately firing into crowds of civilians, running kids over in the street, raping Iraqi girls and so much more. We weren't building Mall of America over there, we were conquering and occupying. Nice lesson. Who are you trying to kid?

coffee smells good:Gnarwhal: Occupation Oilraqi Freedumb was a terrorist attack and a war crime. Killing people that didn't do anything to you for political reasons, trying to intimidate a wider population into accepting your will and ideology is the essence terrorism -- whether you're wearing a bomb on your head or an army uniform. The main difference between neocons/Iraqi freetards and the Islamists is what they think the world should look like.

And I'm sorry but Oilraqi Fartdumb was an obvious war crime too. An unsuccessful war that you start is unnecessary war. An unnecessary war that you start is a war of aggression. Wars of aggression are war crimes. Perpetrators of war crimes are war criminals. Conclusion: Those demon-Cletuses that did that should go to prison for the rest of their lives.

Invading Kuwait, using WMDs on the Kurds.... Are you that stupid or just that young? Go into the archives if you want to relive that fight.

There are just people who use a very loose and highly inaccurate definition of "terrorism' and "war crimes". This is is one of them.

coffee smells good:Gnarwhal: Occupation Oilraqi Freedumb was a terrorist attack and a war crime. Killing people that didn't do anything to you for political reasons, trying to intimidate a wider population into accepting your will and ideology is the essence terrorism -- whether you're wearing a bomb on your head or an army uniform. The main difference between neocons/Iraqi freetards and the Islamists is what they think the world should look like.

And I'm sorry but Oilraqi Fartdumb was an obvious war crime too. An unsuccessful war that you start is unnecessary war. An unnecessary war that you start is a war of aggression. Wars of aggression are war crimes. Perpetrators of war crimes are war criminals. Conclusion: Those demon-Cletuses that did that should go to prison for the rest of their lives.

Invading Kuwait, using WMDs on the Kurds.... Are you that stupid or just that young? Go into the archives if you want to relive that fight.

Are you referring to Bosnia under Clinton or Iraq under Bush? The libs gets their panties in a bunch over one but not the other.

patent holder:coffee smells good: Gnarwhal: Occupation Oilraqi Freedumb was a terrorist attack and a war crime. Killing people that didn't do anything to you for political reasons, trying to intimidate a wider population into accepting your will and ideology is the essence terrorism -- whether you're wearing a bomb on your head or an army uniform. The main difference between neocons/Iraqi freetards and the Islamists is what they think the world should look like.

And I'm sorry but Oilraqi Fartdumb was an obvious war crime too. An unsuccessful war that you start is unnecessary war. An unnecessary war that you start is a war of aggression. Wars of aggression are war crimes. Perpetrators of war crimes are war criminals. Conclusion: Those demon-Cletuses that did that should go to prison for the rest of their lives.

Invading Kuwait, using WMDs on the Kurds.... Are you that stupid or just that young? Go into the archives if you want to relive that fight.

Are you referring to Bosnia under Clinton or Iraq under Bush? The libs gets their panties in a bunch over one but not the other.

Gyrfalcon: There are just people who use a very loose and highly inaccurate definition of "terrorism' and "war crimes". This is is one of them.

No. My reasoning is entirely sound and my view is shared by almost all members of our species that aren't American nationalists. An illegal war is a war crime. Kofi Annan, head of the UN at the time, agreed that Iraqi Freedumb was illegal. Richard Pearl, credited architect Iraqi Freedumb said it was illegal (but justified). "War crime" isn't a pejorative; it has a legal definition which Iraqi Freedumb clearly meets.